VIRGINBLUE
042
Ahandful of rogue grape growers
began planting chardonnay and
cabernet vines in centr al New South
Wales in the mid-1970s, convinced that the
region's rich basalt soils would produce
more concentr ated wines. Nearby, fruit
trees were springing up in cool, dr y climates
and dairy farmers were experimenting with
small batches of hand-churned cheese
and fresh milk. All the while, neighbouring
graziers shook their heads in disgust,
willing this influx of city-slicker foodies to
turn around on their patent-leather heels
and return to the big smoke.
Four decades later, the thriving wine and
food regions of Mudgee and Orange are
packed with boutique cellar doors, gourmet
cafes and small-time food producers, all
jostling for a slice of the consider able cash
cow their regions have birthed.
In 2008, Mudgee drew 436,000 visitors
to the area. Of those, 85 per cent visited
a winery, 84 per cent dined in a restaurant
and 74 per cent bought wine, food and
produce from local outlets. Microbreweries
coexist with chef's-hat restaurants and
family-owned bakeries while the older
generation of graziers still watch from
the sidelines, shaking their heads.
Around Australia, up-and-coming food
and wine regions tucked away in hidden
corners are quietly sowing the seeds of
their own local flavour, converting their
passion for premium local produce, such
as bush spices, olive oil, crayfish, honey
and truffles, into a wave of profitability.
These emerging food regions are ready
to explode onto the global gourmet stage
like a freshly barbecued sausage -- just as
Mudgee and Orange did. Get it while it's hot.
HOME ON THE RANGE
SOUTHERN FLINDERS
RANGES, SA
In South Australia's rugged Southern
Flinders Ranges a largely undiscovered
food bowl is sandwiched between Spencer
Gulf in the west and the lush agricultur al
hinterland to the east.
The unique terroir here means that
wild bush foods from the outback can be
grown alongside boutique farmed produce.
This allows the producers to create
unique products such as Broughton River
Gourmet's Bush Tucker Dukkah, Mountain
Pepper Mustard and Bush Tomato Chutney.
According to Stephen Schwer, spokesman
for the Southern Flinders Regional Tourism
Authority, you can add plenty more good
tucker to that list, including seafood and
farmed quandong (an edible red fruit).
"You can take fresh seafood from the
coast and rivers, such as King George
whiting, Spencer Gulf prawns and farmed
baby barramundi, and put it alongside
biodynamic and organic stone fruits, as
well as olives, wine and wheat," he says.
Local quandong producer Graham
Herde says he and his wife, Iris, have been
experimenting with the native fruit for 15
years. "It is difficult to introduce wild plants
into commercial markets, but quandong
You can take
fresh seafood
from the coast
and rivers and
put it alongside
biodynamic and
organic stone
fruits, olives,
vegetables, wine
and wheat.